After the events of
the first Resident Evil, the Umbrella Corporation, still unsure
of what actually happened inside “The Hive” underneath RaccoonCity,
reopens the facility. But in doing so allows the undead carriers of a
deadly virus to escape into the city. Seeing that the contamination
can’t be stopped, Umbrella seals the town. Alice, the survivor of the
first film, awakens to find herself trapped inside the city of the
dead, and must team up with a group of survivors in order to find the
daughter of one of Umbrella’s scientists and escape the city before it
is nuked. All while outrunning zombies, monsters, and The Nemesis, a
creature created for one purpose – to kill.
CRITIQUE
I have no love for
the first Resident Evil film. I found that it failed in every
way for me. It was a terrible zombie film because the zombies were in
no way threatening. During all the zombie attack scenes, I never felt
the characters were in any danger (even when getting chomped on.) As a
monster movie Resident Evil failed, due to the Licker being
poorly executed and never presented a threat. As an adaptation of a
game I like, it failed (for instance, exposing Umbrella’s dark side in
the first act of the film.) Everything the film attempted to do, it
failed for me.
However, I am happy
to say that Apocalypse isn’t a complete and total train wreck
of a film. Once one gets past the first forty minutes of the film,
the film picks up and is actually somewhat entertaining.
The film blends
elements of the Resident Evil games together with Escape
from New York in a way that is both entertaining and frustrating.
As I stated above, the first third of the film is mind numbingly
painful to watch. Both Jill Valentine’s and Carlos’ introductions are
ridiculous (Jill’s intro creates an inconsistency in her character
later on in the film.) Mike Epps’ comic relief character, L.J., is
annoying. The Licker monsters from the first film return and look
just as bad (or worse in some cases.) There is piss poor editing and
camera work (the director slows down the action during many of the
zombie action scenes, which destroy any and all tension and
momentum.) There are no scares (there are loud sound effects that
make you jump when something “scary” is supposed to be happening, but
there are no real scares.) We are unnecessarily shown the same
flashback four times (how Matt was “chosen” to be the Nemesis at the
end of the first Resident Evil film.) Finally the “logic” is
non existent (how exactly did the T-Virus get into the ground and
raise the dead from their graves when it is only spread through zombie
bites?)
Now, if you survive
this forty minute assault on your sanity without leaving, falling
asleep, or chewing your arm off to make you forget the pain,
congratulations. From the moment the film becomes Escape from New
York, the film begins to improve. There is a little more tension
in the film, the creatures are kept to a minimum (just a few zombies,
dogs, and the Nemesis, which looks a lot like a blend of Frankenstein
and the Crow), and the silliness of the action sequences is reduced.
And if one forgets about the first third of the film, one can say that
the characters are actually consistent.
Now, is Resident
Evil: Apocalypse a good film? Not really. It’s a popcorn movie.
It’s something that can kill an hour and a half of time. If you’re a
fan of the first Resident Evil, you will love it. If you’re a
fan of the games, you will have fun pointing how many shots in the
film are directly stolen from the games (all the games, including Code
Veronica, have at least two scenes in the film.) However, if you
hated the first film, it’s probably best to avoid this one.
THE VIDEO
The film is
presented in both widescreen (2.40:1) and fullscreen (1.33:1) both of
which have some problems. While both presentations have a few issues
with the transfer (some of the effects in a few shots give the film a
surreal quality that was never there in the theater) the fullscreen
doubly suffers by having both the transfer issues as well as having
really annoying pan and scan moments. Overall, not a very good
transfer.
THE AUDIO
The audio mix is a
really good 5.1 Dolby Digital mix. The speakers are given a good
workout with the action. There are a few moments in which the
dialogue is lost underneath some of the sound effects, but it’s never
bothersome. A nice little mix.
THE EXTRAS
Disc One:
Filmmaker
Commentary:
Director Witt, producer Jeremy Bolt, and executive producer Robert
Kulzer talk about the film. It’s a decent track.
Cast Commentary:
Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, and Sienna Guillory talk about the making
of the film. A far better track than the first Resident Evil
commentary, but not as good as the filmmaker track.
Writer & Producer
Commentary:
Writer Paul W.S. Anderson and Producer Bolt talk about the film. This
is practically the same track as the Filmmaker’s commentary.
Disc Two:
Deleted Scenes:
20 cut scenes, some of which show how different a cut the film was
prior to the film’s release (the church sequence is far different in
the deleted scenes than presented in the film).
Outtakes:
The usual cast goof off stuff.
Game Over: Resident
Evil Reanimated:
A six part making of feature looking at different aspects of the
making. Game Plan deals with the adaptation of the game and how
the story continues the continuity that first film started.
Running, Jumping, Fighting deals with the stunts and action of the
film. Zombie Choreography talks about the look and movement of
the zombies. Building Raccoon City looks at the sets and
locations of the film. Big Guns looks at the weapons of the
film. Smoke and Mirrors looks at the special effects. Overall,
it’s a nice feature, much better than most making-of documentaries.
Game Babes: The cast and
crew of the film talk about how fun it is to be (or to work with) a
badass chick in a movie like this.
Symphony of Evil:
A look
at the special effects of the film, showing the progression of scenes
from conception through completion.
Corporate
Malfeasance: A look at the
Umbrella Corporation and the possibility of similarities in the real
world.
FINAL THOUGHT
While the film
isn’t that good, the DVD presentation is excellent. The amount and quality of
extras makes this an excellent DVD for fans of the series.
